Abstract
Health at work is wide area that includes the prevention of work related diseases, accidents at work (work injuries) and occupational diseases and covers all aspects of the relationship between work and health. Occupational Medicine covers in the european concept occupational hygiene dealing with health risk assessment of load factors in working environment (based on the evaluation of exposures) to occupational pathology, i.e. occupational diseases, work-related diseases and accidents at work.
Occupational physicians do not deal only specific activities like diagnostics, recognition, reporting and therapy of occupational diseases, but mainly provide advisory and consultative occupational medical/health services, which is an integral part of medical fitness assessment for work. The basic requirement for work experience is professional independence, i.e. occupational physicians and health care professionals must enjoy independence in the performance of its functions, which should allow them to make judgments and give advice to the safety and health of workers in the company in accordance with their best knowledge and conscience (art. 10 of the Convention on Occupational Health Services, Reg. 145/1988 Coll.).
International Code of Ethics for Professionals in Occupational Health contains ethical principles applicable to all occupational healthcare professionals (doctors / physicians , nurses and other experts).